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 Copyright, T.C. Moore. 2009.Calvinism and Holy Hip Hop, Part IIBy T.C. MooreIntroduction:In Part I of this two-part note on Calvinism and Holy Hip Hop, I outline several clarifyingthoughts that will serve as supportive context for the thesis I will now argue. They are: First,Calvinism is determinism. Whether or not Calvinists like to admit it, Calvinism's commitment toexhaustive predestination is determinism and there is no way around it. Second, determinism isnot naturally held by oppressed people groups. People who are presently experiencing greatinjustice, exploitation, and dehumanization rarely choose to believe their plight is the will of aloving God. It is much more common for determinism to be found in the theology of thewealthy, elite, and powerful. Third, the culture of which holy hip hop is a subset emerged from apeople group who were not wealthy, elite, or powerful. Instead, hip hop is the cultural movementthat arose from New York slums and projects in the late 70s and early 80s. Fourthly, Calvinismenjoys a theological dominance over conservative seminaries in the US that is disproportionateto the theological makeup of American Christians. These four considerations will operate in thebackground of the points I will now present.As I said in the previous note, I am concerned about two things: why holy hip hop artists arecompelled to hold Calvinist theology in the first place, and the effect this theology might have onthe listening generation. In the following points, I will flesh out these two concerns explainingwhy Calvinism in holy hip hop is potentially dangerous and destructive.Concern #1: Why Are So Many Holy Hip Hop Artists Calvinists?I cannot and do not claim to know the heart-motives of every holy hip hop artist who is aCalvinist. I am not God and not their judge. In fact, due to the demonstration of faith I havewitnessed in many of them, I am confident that they each hold the theology they do because theybelieve it is biblical, truth. To be clear, I do not wish to insinuate that any HHH artist holds sinfulmotives for affirming Calvinism. Rather, I recognize several external motivators at work in theAmerican theological landscape that could be responsible for this sweeping trend.A) Reinforced Institutional RacismThe first of these external motivators is the centuries of institutional racism still found in theseminaries where many holy hip hop artists are theologically trained. Moreover, even theCalvinist holy hip hop artists who have not been seminary trained study under those who have
 
 Copyright, T.C. Moore. 2009.and attend churches which are directly influenced by the dominance of Calvinism in USseminaries.How does institutional racism enter the equation? Institutional racism flourishes due to theinordinate and disproportionate exultation of the theologies of dead, white/European theologiansover the present, majority, global theologies of non-white people groups around the world andBlack theology developed right here in the US.If an alien from Mars studied theology at just about any of the conservative seminaries in the US,the alien might think that humanity's theological questioning ended in the 16th century. Due tothe way in which Calvinism is presented, the alien might think white Europeans solved everytheological problem nearly 500 years ago and created the perfect system to explain them all.Calvinism is presented as the theology to end all theologies. Reformed and no longer reforming.Even in those rare schools which grant a generous dose of tolerance to their "Arminian brothers,"the problem of exalting dead, white theologians to the place of authority they do not logicallydeserve persists nonetheless. Whether the dead, white theologian from the 16th century that isbeing irrationally exalted is Luther, Calvin, Arminius, or Molina, it serves only to reinforce theracist status quo.To describe this phenomenon, I'd like to borrow a title from one of my professors, Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, and call this the "Western, White Captivity of the Church." (Yes, this is a directallusion to the Babylonian Captivity.) Dr. Rah explains that global Christianity is just nowbeginning to see signs of emergence from nearly 500 years of being White/European-dominated.For nearly 500 years, it has been accepted that dead, white men like Luther and Calvin 'wrote thebook' on theology and there is nothing new to know.When students of color enter conservative seminaries in the US, they are met instantly with anunspoken message: "assimilate or be labeled a heretic ...or worse, a 'Liberal'." Since Calvinismdominates these schools, assimilation includes full affirmation of Reformed doctrine. As long astheological education in these schools is dominated by Calvinism, power remains invested inwhiteness. No one even questions why Black Theology isn't taught along side these ancient,white systems. No one even considers the fact that those who created Calvinism, Lutheranism,and Arminianism did so in a culture, in a historical time period, and that it was hundreds of yearsago!Theology is not done in a vacuum. Theologians in the 16th century like Calvin addressed theconcerns and contemporary issues of his day. He and other reformers *Re-formed* what theywere taught. They developed a new way of viewing the Scriptures, the Church, tradition, etc.Reformed thinkers developed doctrine to combat the Enlightenment's confidence in human
 
 Copyright, T.C. Moore. 2009.progress and the power of our rational faculties. However, today, if we question what has beenhanded down to us, we are likely to be labeled something pejorative. Again, Calvinism leads tobeing Reformed, but no longer reforming.Thankfully, however, the global theological landscape is changing. In the last few decades,theological scholarship has begun to catch up with the movement of the global Church awayfrom predominately white continents towards Latin America, Africa, and Asia. We are nowseeing a great deal more distinctly African Theology, distinctly Asian Theology, and distinctlyLatin American Theology.Holy hip hop's dominance by Calvinist theology represents a move in the wrong direction whencompared to the trajectory of global Christianity. Even in the US, the vast majority of Christiansreject ideas fundamental to Calvinism like Irresistible Grace and Limited Atonement. Calvinismis not representative of most churches in the US nor the world. Calvinism is also not a theologydesigned to address contemporary concerns, but the concerns of white, European Christiansnearly 500 years ago.B) Cultish Theological ElitismThe second insidious undercurrent also exists in many of these same seminaries where holy hiphop artists go to be theologically trained and where the works of Calvin and Luther are taughtvirtually on par with scripture. It is common for the affirmation of Reformed theology in theseschools to be boastful. Students wear it like a merit badge. Being a Calvinist gives these studentsa sense of intellectual and moral superiority. They often remind critics of their theologicalsystem's long tradition and rich heritage. (They conveniently blank of those minor faux pas likethe burning of Michael Servetus... but I digress.) Suffice to say, the affirmation of Calvinism inmany conservative American seminaries equates to membership in an prestigious club of theological elites.To demonstrate my point, consider the 'rock stars' of Christianity in America. Many of the mostpopular pastors, speakers, and authors are members of this stylish clique. Some notable namesinclude Mark Driscoll, John Piper, C. J. Mahaney, Norman Geisler, and John MacArthur. Andthey are not shy at all about their beliefs. They are famous for holding what they claim to be themost Bible-honoring and God-glorifying theology, while condemning and hunting downdoctrines they consider heresy and pastors they consider heretics for public ridicule anddefamation.For many of its proponents, Calvinism is not only one valid theological position amidst a diverseuniversal Church of believing Christians around the world---it is THE, SINGULAR validtheological position. It is this arrogant claim to singular theological correctness that borders on
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